1. Technical Field
The invention disclosed broadly relates to data processing systems and more particularly relates to routing communications between computer processes in the same communications node.
2. Background Art
The copending U. S. patent application by S. K. Miller, et al. cited above, is directed to a computer-based telephone call placement and answering system. A local area network is described in the S. K. Miller, et al. patent application, which includes a plurality of workstations, a gateway server, an archive server, and other equipment used to distribute incoming telephone calls to a plurality of operators working at workstations connected to a local area network. The operators can also place outbound calls. The gateway server connected to the local area network will receive caller identity information for inbound calls and will initiate the accessing of a data base coupled to the local area network, so as to enable the operators working at the workstations to have caller-related data displayed to them at the time that their telephone rings with the inbound call. The gateway server interacts with a PBX (Public Branch Exchange) connected to the public telephone network.
The system described in the S. K. Miller, et al. patent application is typical of multiple node local area network embodiments, in that it requires a communications program to be resident at each communications node to interact with a local area network for sending and receiving messages between the nodes. Many of the nodes are functionally different from one another, for example the workstation nodes are functionally different from the gateway server node, the workstation nodes are functionally different from the archive server node, and other types of functions for nodes connected to the local area network can be postulated which are different from the workstation nodes. The usual embodiment in the prior art for the communications program interfacing a communications node with a local area network, requires that the communications program be customized in its source code to interact with the plurality of computer program processes running in the node which must carry out the unique function assigned to that node.
When the function assigned to a particular node in a local area network is to be changed, it is typical in the prior art that the communications program for that node must also be changed in order to properly communicate with the new or modified processes to be resident in the node. Further, where a different node having a new function is added to the local area network, it may be necessary to modify the communications program in each of the other nodes to enable the proper receipt and processing of messages from the newly added node.